Woods and Voodoo
by Viskey HeroMouse
Summary: The Team is hiking through the woods, and Murdock has a new fixation. Oneshot


_This was my response to the ATSB-Originality Experiment, where certain elements had to be woven into a story._

* * *

"I love it when a plan comes together," Hannibal announced, still high on adrenaline, looking back at the palisade they'd just got over. Those rednecks were much better organised than Hannibal had thought. – Hence their success in capturing the team, if only for an hour. All it needed now, was getting back into town, to their van, their guns, the evidence... the conclusion of the case.

"Yeah, one great plan, Hannibal," Face cursed softly to himself, sitting on the ground and massaging his left ankle. "Couldn't we at least have waited until it stopped raining?"

"Why, where's the fun in that?" Hannibal asked back happily, but then turned serious. "It's been raining the whole day, why think it would suddenly stop?"

"Because God loves us?" Face asked back wryly.

"God loves those who help themselves," Hannibal lectured. "We're quite a while from town, and I'd like to get there in daylight. I'd rather not hike this wood in the dark, not knowing the surroundings. Besides, the rain will wipe out our footprints. So, come on, let's move." Hannibal set out, but was stopped before he took his second step.

"Ah... Hannibal?" Face spoke up almost apologetically.

"What?"

"I hate to say it, but I think my ankle's..."

"Broken?"

Face shrugged. "No, not broken. It doesn't hurt enough for that. I think it's sprained, badly sprained." Face cleared his throat uneasily. "I'm not sure how well I can walk."

Hannibal suppressed a sigh. Although, of course, Face hadn't sprained his ankle on purpose, it was a setback. It would slow them down. And that was not at all good, considering their current situation. "BA, Murdock, help him."

"Sure thing, Hannibal." BA was already at Face's side, picking him up off the floor. Face slung his one arm around BA's shoulders, his other around Murdock's. That way he was able to hobble along without overstraining his good leg while sparing his injured one.

Hannibal suppressed another sigh. This was going to be quite a hindrance. Nothing to be done about it, though... "Ok, let's move it," he announced again. "I wanna be back in town as soon as possible."

"They better not have done anything to my van," BA promptly grumbled. One could not accuse BA of not having priorities.

"Oh, come on, BA," Murdock said cheerily, "They couldn't. I put a safety-spell on your van, so no evil person can touch it."

"I'll spell 'fist' to you if you don't shut up!" BA shouted, turning to face Murdock warningly, one arm raised, hand curled into a fist.

"Hey, hey, injured man in the middle!" Face interfered. "You can beat him up when I don't need him to support me anymore."

"Face!" Murdock gave a shocked impression.

"What?" Face asked innocently, like he had no idea why Murdock would have reason to be shocked.

"I'm hurt. Promise, once we're back at the van, I get my Ouanga and poke it on the back of its left arm."

"Just stop it, Fool!" BA threatened.

"Ouanga?" Hannibal asked. Murdock had dropped a mass of strange words in the past three days and he started to mix them up.

"Voodoo-doll," Face helped out instead of Murdock, who was still busy being offended.

"Uh-huh." Hannibal turned, starting to walk again. He could hear that his team was following him.

"You might have poked the doll's ankle already," he heard Face say.

"Ah, you should know that's not how it works," Murdock quickly contradicted. "Just cause I poke the Ouanga's ankle, doesn't mean you break yours. It's more on a metaphorical level, you know? It may slow your progress."

"So, poking the back of my left arm will do what? Ruin my piano-performance?"

"No, it will ruin your... bed-performance."

"WHAT?!"

Hannibal turned to face his team again, taking a look at his shocked Lieutenant. No bigger threat to him than to prohibit sex.

BA, though, had instantly forgotten his own anger, giggling at the proposed situation.

Face's head snapped around to him. "You think that's funny?!"

BA giggled harder and nodded.

"What sort of friends are you?"

"We're the sort of friends that keep you upright at the moment, Face, so be careful who you insult," Murdock answered sweetly.

"He does have a point there," Hannibal said, intent on ending the little banter. It didn't look too bad for them at the moment, but on a more long term view, their situation left quite something to be desired.

The rednecks must have detected their escape by now, and surely were on their tracks. In town Lynch was probably already awaiting them, not to mention Judy and her aunts who were helpless without the team. God knows what the baddies might do to them in the team's absence. Time they got their evidence delivered, so the sheriff could nab the gang and lock them up.

For a while they proceeded in silence, Hannibal careful to pick a route that BA, Face and Murdock could manage, walking side by side.

"If you let me, I could summon the heavenly powers to help us," Murdock suggested hopefully.

"Yeah, and I could summon my brute force if you don't shut up right now!"

"No need to be grumpy, oh Big Guy," Murdock went on unperturbed. "I'll forgive you, for I know it's only worry that speaks through you. Worry – unnecessary worry, I might add – for your precious van, which is perfectly safe, because, as I have told you, I have put a safety -"

Murdock was unable to finish his elaboration, because BA wrapped his fingers around his throat. "You – shut – up!"

Murdock wheezed, trying to get some air through his constricted throat.

"BA, let go of him!" Hannibal found it necessary to intervene.

"He's just getting on my nerves, Hannibal!"

"I know. But we want him in one piece, unnerving or not. So let him go."

BA slowly eased his grip. "Just be quiet for the rest of this hike."

Murdock nodded, not risking talking yet.

Another hour went by in relative silence. Murdock pretty much kept his antics to himself, Face kept his whining to himself, BA kept his grunts to himself, and Hannibal gave the odd order.

"Ah, Murdock?" Face suddenly asked.

"Yeah, muchacho?"

"About that left arm thing..."

Hannibal had a hard time not bursting into laughter, and suspected the others had their difficulty with that as well.

"What about it?" Murdock asked lightly.

"Well... not that I believe in that stuff, but..."

"You're so cheap, Face," Murdock stated with a smile.

"Well, call it my fixation!" Face defended himself. "Just look at what it does to you when BA threatens your fixation."

"Now I've heard it all," Hannibal commented softly to himself. "Sex is a fixation. Really..." Increasing the loudness of his voice he said, "Shut up back there. We don't want to be heard miles around."

BA, Murdock and Face all three mumbled their consent, then fell silent, which was a good thing too, because only that way they could hear the voices of the rednecks that were pursuing them and closing in.

* * *

The End

 _Elements required to appear in the story: Rain, Face having an injured ankle, the Team being separated from the van. There were more, methinks, but I can't remember._ ;)


End file.
